J-K police has ‘picked’ up three of his men for ‘selling arms and ammunitions seized from militants’ in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. The intelligence sleuths of police have,in fact,submitted a report about the arms trade last month to the state government.

Three police men and an Army man of Territorial Army (TA),sources reveal,were questioned by the J-K police and its intelligence agencies after the disclosure that seized arms was being sold by Police sleuths.

Police sources said that two Special Police Officers (SPO) Tariq Ahmed (441/KP) and Bashir Ahmed (1148/KP),Constable Bashir Ahmed (JKAP of 7th battalion) all affiliated with the Special Operation Group (SOG) were picked up by police for questioning in the arms trade in border district of Kupwara. Sources said that the three were picked up after the intelligence sleuths intercepted communication of the policemen with an Army man posted in the area. The trio police men,sources said,were under the surveillance of the Police intelligence wing for several months.

A police report submitted in January to the top J-K police brass said that the three police men sold arms recovered and seized from militants to local Army unit in Kupwara. “The arms and ammunition was sold through a Territorial Army (TA) cop Mohammad Yousuf Khan of Madianpora Takipora Lolab who is presently working with 160-TA camp Hern sector Trehgam,” a report submitted by the intelligence wing of the Police said.

Police sources said that the Policemen were picked up when they were going to sell a rifle and a magazine which they had kept in a camp in Lolab. One of the policemen allegedly involved in this arms trade is the brother of former Station House Officer (SHO) Sogam,who is in jail for his involvement in the killing of former minister Mushtaq Ahmed Lone in 2002. This has further alerted the police who are looking at every possible dimension to this arms trade.

The police sources reveal that the Army later used to show these weapons as recovery from different operations to boost up their success against militants.

An Army spokesman in Srinagar,however,vehemently denied that any Army man was involved in the case. “There is no army man involved in the arms trade,” Army spokesman Col Uma Mashewara said. “The army has no information about any police report submitted on this issue.”

Inspector General Police,Kashmir B Srinivas said that they have not arrested any in the case. “We have not arrested anybody,” he said.